If Ortiz Wins, Couture May Beckon

He’s been dropping hints the past week, but it now sounds fairly definitive that UFC Hall of Famer, and former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion, Randy Couture will (14-8 MMA, 11-5 UFC) will plan to come out of retirement to fight Tito Ortiz if he beats Chuck Liddell in their championship UFC 66 main event tonight.

Couture, who announced his retirement after a knockout loss to Liddell this past February, has since stayed active in the UFC as a broadcaster and ambassador of the sport, even working on a special committee with Marc Ratner, UFC VP of regulatory affairs, aimed at getting the organization sanctioned in new states.

However, the draw of the Octagon seems to be too much for the 43-year-old Couture.

If “The Iceman” brings his “A” game Dec. 30, he’ll likely make it 2-0 against Ortiz, and Couture picks the champ to repeat. However, the hall-of-famer might just be pulling for Ortiz to spring the upset.

“If Tito finds a way to beat Chuck, I’m going to have to come out of retirement and give Tito a whack.”

Asked if he was serious about lacing up the gloves again to fight Ortiz, Couture responded with an emphatic “absolutely.”

Couture, then the UFC’s interim light heavyweight champion, scored a unanimous-decision win over Ortiz in their only bout (UFC 44 in September 2003). The win unified the light-heavyweight title.

Liddell and Ortiz meet tonight in a pay-per-view event expected to draw upward of 1.2 million buys. Liddell was the winner of their only bout (UFC 47 in 2004), but Couture now seems to have a reason to root for Ortiz, who enters the fight more than a 2-to-1 underdog to Liddell. (Check out Performify’s Picks for the full UFC 66 card.)

In an episode of Sherdog’s “Beatdown” radio show, Couture confirmed — pending a formal invitation from the UFC — that he would fight Ortiz if Ortiz wins tonight’s main event.

To outsiders, a retired 43-year-old fighter wanting to battle the world’s elite sounds like a man with a death wish. But anyone who’s followed the UFC and Couture’s career knows he’s the exception to the rule. The former Greco-Roman wrestler didn’t begin his MMA career until he was nearly 34 years old, and even then, excelled against a who’s who of fighters.

Additionally, it’s hard to imagine the UFC turning down Couture’s request if Ortiz were to win. Although the organization has made strides toward improving it’s light-heavyweight division in recent months and has a handful of true contenders already, a Couture-Ortiz rematch would be a huge draw — to both new and old fans of the UFC.

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